Podcast: Download (34.0MB)
Living Stones: God’s Memorials
Joshua 4
Introduction: 2 Peter 1:9, “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”
God has always been concerned about our forgetfulness. We easily forget what God has done for us and the wonders of his greatness. In this text, those who do not grow in the virtues that make us partakers of the divine nature, have forgotten what God has done in cleansing them from their sins.
It is for this reason that God has always given his people memorials. It is the reason God gave Israel their three yearly feasts, why they were to keep their Sabbaths, and offer animal sacrifices both for sins and for remembrance of God’s goodness. Deuteronomy alone, with its message of “remember and obey,” is a great memorial in itself.
Our text is Joshua 4, in which God gave Israel a key memorial as they crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land.
- The Setting of Joshua 4
- It would have been late Spring as Joshua and the people arrived at the banks of the Jordan, which were overflowing. God commanded that as the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stepped into the waters of the Jordan, the river would stand up in a heap while the people crossed on dry ground.
- After everyone passed to the other side, God commanded twelve men, one from each tribe, to carry stones on their shoulders from the river to be set up as a memorial of the occasion in which God fulfilled his promise to bring Israel into the Promised Land.
- Reasons for God’s Memorials
- Joshua 4:20-24 Notice the reasons God gives for these memorial stones: “And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
- God’s memorials are so that we will never forget what God has done. 4:7, “So these stones shall be to the people of Israel and memorial forever.”
- That makes sense to all of us. Tennessee and the South are filled with memorials of the Civil War. Washington DC has memorials of all the wars and more. As a nation, we are shouting, “Do not forget!” We know that if the people forget, they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, and maybe worse, not appreciate what was done to give us the freedom we have today.
- The same is with God. By always remembering we are able to maintain humility and dependence on God. By always remembering how God saved us, we are more compassionate toward others and desire their salvation as well. (Message of the Good Samaritan)
- God’s memorials are so that we will be forever changed by what God did. Remembrance is not just for “remembering,” it to change our future. Verse 24 states, “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” Remembrance is to change our lives so that we not only appreciate the Lord’s deliverance, but also acknowledge his power so that we fear and respect him.
- That was the principle is 2 Peter 1: those who do not grow have forgotten what the Lord has done for them.
- In Ephesians 2, after speaking of God’s mercy and grace in saving us, Paul said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV).
- God’s memorials are so that we would teach our children what God did. This is twice mentioned in this text:
- “When your children ask in time to come, “What do those stones mean to you? then you shall tell them”(Joshua 4:6-7).
- “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let their children know…” (Joshua 4:21-22)
- Memorials are especially for future generations. Obviously, the most important reason for a memorial of a past event is for those who were not there to experience it. The future of Israel was dependent on the children knowing what God had done to deliver them from bondage, bring them through the wilderness, and give them the Promised Land. That Israel did not teach their children was the reason for their downfall. That is our future as well! – the future of God’s people and the future of your family.
- These stones were visible reminders of the need to tell the children what God had done. Please be aware of the importance of verbally, personally instructing our children. I am old enough to have watched three generations grow up since I was a teen. Parents who simply took their children to church but did not personally teach them nor were careful in the activities they allowed, usually lost their children. Worse, now their grandchildren know nothing about the Lord.
- Our Living Stones
- God has left us with similar reminders. These are not just reminders for us personally, but reminders to be used for the instruction of our children.
- First, the cross is our key memorial. It is the time when God broke the power of Satan and gave us freedom and a hope of eternal joy with the Lord. The memorial for the cross is the Lord’s Supper. But please note that the Lord’s Supper is not simply “remembering.”
- Since in the Supper we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes, this is a memorial to remind us of how we are to live and act before the world. Obviously the world is not watching us partake. The Supper is reminding us how to live.
- Further, we give thanks at the Supper. Our thanks isn’t for a bit of bread and sip of juice, it is for what they represent in what God has done. God has given us a visible reminder every week so we will not forget to be thankful and proclaim his death.
- Third, the Supper is a reminder to teach our children why we partake, but not them. God saved us from our sins and changed our lives to living for him instead of living for ourselves.
- Second, baptism is another memorial. Paul used it that way in Romans 6:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1–4 ESV)- Baptism is a reminder that we were united with Christ in his death and resurrection. We touched blood with him, his blood, and thus entered a very serious covenantal relationship.
- Baptism is also a reminder that our old self died so that we no longer live for our desires but a new life with God and his purposes.
- There are few biblical principles that need better and more complete instruction for our children than baptism. When they hear “repent and be baptized” every week they can get in their minds it just “something to do” even for me if I lied to mommy. They need to know that baptism is an adult commitment to serving Christ and for the forgiveness of adult sins.
- Personal life memorials. Take a moment and think about key moments in your life where God has helped you, rescued you, or changed you. David in the Psalms often referenced God’s care for him in his prayers (Psalm 22). Consider the greatest challenges in your life and how God brought you through. Consider the times in your youth when you were foolish and sinful and how God spared you. Consider the wonderful times in which God blessed you.
- We need to create reminders, maybe written reminders so that we never forget.
- But one of the greatest reminders is to create living stones for our children. Are we telling them these stories? Do they know how God delivered you? Are you reminding them of God’s blessings and how he cared for you? Tell them about the trials and how hopeless it seemed at times, but how God brought you through. (Example: my mother was a widow at age 42 with four children still at home. How were we to live?)
- What are your living memorials for this coming year?
- Remember and be changed.
- Be full of praise and thanksgiving.
- Teach and remind what these stones mean.
Berry & Brent Kercheville